Hurricane Ian death toll rises in Florida 

The death toll is rising in Florida following Hurricane Ian as desperate residents fled their flooded homes by boats and air. In South Carolina and North Carolina, authorities began to asses the damage and loss in the wake of Hurricane Ian. 

The storm is one of the strongest hurricanes by wind speed to ever hit the US. The death toll currently sits at 47 in Florida, four in North Carolina and three in Cuba. 

Reports of more deaths in Florida are still emerging county by county, leading us to believe the death toll will be much higher than the official one at the moment. 

Most of the deaths confirmed in Florida were from drowning in storm waters, and some from Ian’s tragic aftereffects. 

An older couple died when they lost power and their oxygen machines shut off, authorities said. 

By Saturday the storm had weakened but it still washed out bridges and piers, hurdled massive boats into buildings onshore and sheared roofs off homes, leaving thousands without power.

In North Carolina, the storm left more than 280,000 people without power on Saturday.